Corruption at its best

Bannerghatta road in Bangalore - India is fast becoming the one of the busiest road in the city with both residential & industrial areas being there. HSBC data center has been there for long & recently Accenture has opened a center there.

The road was dug up sometime in July 2003 & was in a very bad shape. For some reasons the road remained unrepaired and neglected till June 2004. The condition of the road worsened after the beating it took & it was a nightmare driving on that road. The road condition & the amount of traffic made it a horrendous experience with a stretch of 500 meters taking almost 45 minutes in peak traffic times.

The repair work started in March 2004 but it got over only in July 2004 what with the general & assembly elections coming in between. Thankfully, the work got over last month and all the residents heaved a sigh of relief. But that relief was shortlived. The road condition is back to square one in less than a month it was repaired. One can only imagine how much low quality material might have been used & the government ripped off by charging at high prices. I cannot imagine this would have been possible without the complicity of the authorities who passed the tenders.

Till the time it is repaired again (who knows when!!!) we residents have to suffer. I guess someone will have to drive Mr. Premji or Mr. Murthy over that road for authorities to take notice of the plight of the citizens.

Capital Punishment

India meted out capital punishment after 11 years to Dhananjoy Chatterjee who was convicted in 1991 for raping & murdering 14 year old Hetal Parekh. The President also rejected his mercy plea. And rightfully so. A rapist & a murderer has no right to live in our society. Dhananjoy was hanged in the early hours of 14th August 2004.

What astonished me of the whole affair was the near celebrity status accorded to a common criminal by the Indian media. His parents were placed under house arrest for the fear of they ending their lives, daily coverage was given to the case in all the leading newspapers. I mean, come on!!! Here was a common criminal who was found guilty of rape & murder & was sentenced to death by the apex court & also the President. The media had no business covering the whole affair in such details. So many people die in India everyday & many of them soldiers & policemen who die for the country. There is hardly any mention of them anywhere.

I feel that the coverage given to this whole affair was not justified & I feel the Indian media should grow up & focus on more important issues & use the power that they have to create a general public awakening similar to what the freedom fighters to gain independance from British Rule.

On our Independance day, let's wish that the media will realise their real duty & not go after juicy & steamy stories which don't have any relevance for the common man.